Do not miss milford sound as an optional extra!!!!!!!! It is a long day trip but well worth it. Promise.
I would recommend the luge and gondola in Rotorua – the gondola views are amazing and the luge is just so much fun! Definitely worth the money.
If you want to do a bungy, I would recommend the Taupo one – I have done a few and Taupo was my favourite.
The shotover jet in Queenstown is quite the experience, the drivers of the boats are so cool and will give you the ride of your life!!

Best place for shopping: Probably Wellington – the main street is filled with shops and at that time of the year there will be heaps of sales!

Weather wise – This time of the year it will be warm during the day and could be cold at night.
Auckland weather is unpredictable no matter what time of the year!

Rotorua is a thermal town and as you may know smells like rotten eggs! Just a quick warning :P

Taupo will be at its best at that time of the year – make sure you have a swim in the lake or get one of the locals to take you for a spin in a boat or jetski on the biggest lake in NZ!

The scenery in the south island especially is just amazing! Best not to sleep on the bus!

Arrowtown (queenstown stop) is THECUTEST little town! Everything is in walking distance! Make sure you go to the little sweet shop to pick up some authentic kiwi lollies!

One more thing – Queenstown is just amazing! Make the most of every day you have there because there is so much to do!!

Best place to eat in Queenstown – ask any of the locals… FERGBURGER!!!
Best (takeaway) burgers in New Zealand! Word of advice – if you go there, avoid peak times (12pm-1pm) (6pm-7pm) because the queue will be LONG!!! Well worth the wait everytime though!!!!

Hope this is helpful – if anyone has any questions about NZ email me if you want lauren__@hotmail.co.nz

Yep I’ve been on this..just 2 months ago actually! I wanna go again!
Everything that lauren said above, but also keep in mind that there are more optionals available than the ones listed here; even in the booklet you get in the mail. For instance, there was a ziplining optional in Queenstown, also some cruising optionals in Auckland, etc; so keep that in mind with spending money..
The lord of the kings optional in Queenstown is great but there is a little repetition in that you go to Arrowtown and past the Bungy Bridge again. Not saying, not to go on it because there are also great parts like Skippers Canyon, but just letting you know.
There’s also an optional in Rotorua (not in booklet or here.) to go to Te Puia. I highly recommend it. I was given the impression it was a museum…like indoors with picture frames kinda thing, but it’s entirely different. It’s got geysers and bubbling mud pools but also buildings from the maori, etc. Goes more in depth and was interesting for me.
Queenstown can be COLD at night..trust me when I say bring warm clothing, even though it looked warm during the day in November. When going to the Skyline restaurant, seeing the views from the deck 12-15 of us were all huddled together and just took the pic and left lol